Lullabies
by intensityENSUES
Summary: The sound of a heartbeat is one of the strongest lullabies. TxG


**A/N:** Bonjour! Been a while since I wrote a HSM fic... I lied. I wrote one not that long ago. But like that old one, I found this half finished on my computer and decided to finish it. I got the idea when :surprise: I went out to ice cream with my daddy (:D I'm a daddy's girl) and I was stepping on his toes and...well you'll get it. This story honestly one of the most scatter brained stories I have. It's not my best, gonna be honest. I didn't proof read it, like I do with Sunny, cause I was like "What the hey. Let's finish this." Oh. the ending sucks. I didn't know where to end it.

And that's the end of my useless rant.

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_Thump thump. Thump thump._

That was the sound newborn Gabriella Montez heard as she rested her body on her father's chest. She was way too young to understand what that soft noise that was calming her down and cradling her to sleep. It was so soft, and repetitive. This soft noise made baby Gabriella feel safe and secure, and at peace.

"That's right Princess, you're safe in Daddy's arms now."

And she slept.

_Thump thump. Thump thump._

It was dark, and the thunder was roaring outside, and 4 year old Gabriella was trying her best to be brave.

"Daddy said to count to ten and close your eyes and it will all go away." Little Gabriella closed her eyes and took deep breaths, and when she got to number 7, a large clap of thunder lit her entire room. She shrieked and started crying.

"DADDY!" She cried and hid under her blankets. She shook in terror as she hugged her teddy tight to her chest. "Daddy, I'm scared…" she said to herself. She continued crying until a strong pair of arms wrapped around her.

"Shhh, it's all right Princess, Daddy's here."

Her father rocked her slowly, her face cradled into his chest, and her sniffles dying down. She slowly fell asleep to the sound of her father's natural lullaby.

_Thump thump. Thump thump._

Gabriella Montez was hot, itchy, and incredibly uncomfortable. At 8 years old, she caught the chicken pox from her friend Troy Bolton, and both were suffering from the itchy red bumps. It was 2:30 in the morning and all she wanted to do was sleep, but her throat scratched, as well as did the red bumps all over her body.

"Daddy…" Gabriella called from her room. Her tiny voice was no match for the big house. Gabriella was frustrated that she couldn't get to sleep, and she was in desperate need of some water. "Daddy." She said a little stronger than before, but with no avail. The sweaty headed brunette girl rolled over grasping her teddy, in an effort to get comfortable. "DADDY!" She said with all the energy she could muster out of her small body. Robert Montez came running in with a glass of water and a damp cloth.

"Princess, are you all right?" Gabriella groaned in frustration.

"Daddy, I'm all itchy, hot, and I can't go to sleep because my throat is all scratchy and I just want to go back to school!" She cried. Gabriella loved school, and this definitely upset her with the fact that she couldn't go back. Robert eased the small girl by placing the cool cloth on her forehead, and the little girl fell asleep against her father's chest, lulled to sleep by his internal lullaby.

_Thump thump. Thump thump._

The tears streamed down her face as she walked home from school. Twelve year old Gabriella did not know how her so called "friends" could ever be so mean. She was nothing but sweet, and caring to Sharpay, and yet she had to go and embarrass her in front of her entire sixth grade class.

"Just because I'm smart doesn't mean she has the right to make fun of me…" Gabriella sniffled as she opened the door of her house.

"Gabby? Is that you? You're home early, Princess." Robert said walking towards his trembling daughter. Robert rushed down to the short girl and kneeled down. "What happened, Princess? Who does Daddy have to beat up?" Gabriella sniffled again.

"Sharpay said I was a smarty pants know it all and said I should stop being a tattle tale 'cause then no one would be my friend." Gabriella leaned into her father's shoulder and sobbed. Robert picked up Gabriella and carried her to his truck. "W-Where are we going, Daddy?"

"We're going to get ice cream. Just don't tell Mom, okay?" Gabriella smiled. When they reached the ice cream parlor, Gabriella stood on her dad's toes and gave him the biggest hug while listening to his steady heartbeat, erasing all the teasing of Sharpay Evans away.

_Thump thump. Thump…_

Gabriella stared at the green grass beneath her feet, blinking back the tears that she held back for days now. At seventeen years of age, she had to witness her father, her savior, her knight in shining armor, being buried in the cold dark grown. Her black dress was wrinkled from sitting on the ground for too long, and she didn't care. She wanted to sit right there, next to her Daddy forever if she really needed to.

She finally let out all the tears that she has been holding in for three days. Everyone was departing from the funeral, and Gabriella's mother went to attend to the guests at the wake. Gabriella couldn't deal with the sympathy anymore. She didn't want to hear everyone's apologies, or their lies of similar emotions, because no one had the same connection that she had with her father. She stood up, ready to run, but a pair of strong arms stopped her. She didn't know who it was, but she buried her face into his chest and sobbed as he rubbed her back affectionately.

Troy Bolton, at 18 years of age, had lost more than his best friend's father. He lost one of his mentors, his confidant. Robert Montez was one of the only people who knew about Troy's feelings towards Gabriella, and he fully approved.

"_Troy, I want you to promise me that you'll take care of Gabriella. Promise me you'll make her happy."  
"I will do everything in my power to keep her safe. For you, Robert."_

Troy comforted the sobbing brunette in his arms and saw that she had fallen asleep in his arms. What he didn't know was that he was lulling her to sleep with his natural lullaby.

_Thump thump. Thump thump._

Troy Bolton looked down at the sleeping brunette on his chest. He never knew why, but 23 year old Gabriella had this habit of falling asleep on his chest and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. She stirred, signaling the awakening of the brunette.

"Good morning, fiancée." Troy said whispering into her ear. Gabriella blushed, and just curled back up into his chest.

"Too early…" She mumbled, pressing her ear to his bare chest, listening closely to his natural rhythm. She was immediately soothed by it, and was drifting off.

"Why do you do that, babe?" Gabriella didn't move from his spot on his chest.

"Do what?" She responded groggily.

"You always fall asleep on my chest. Why?" Gabriella looked up at Troy, the soothing rhythm now inaudible to her. Gabriella blinked, and remembered her father always protecting her from the dangers of life, and the fear that it brought.

"It reminds me of my Dad." She said quietly, and snuggled back into Troy's chest, closing her eyes. "It makes me feel safe, and protected. Whenever I was having a really off day, my dad would just be there, and his heartbeat would lull me to sleep. It made me happy." Troy smiled fulfilling his promise to Gabriella's father, as he laid there with her smiling on his chest and listening to his strong heartbeat, both of them ready to face the fears of the world together.


End file.
